───Thud!
My heart pounds violently.
The demonic energy of a devil circulating through my body amplifies all my traits, and the [Sixth Eye] observes the man-eater.
In the darkness, its eyes are fixed on me. Growling, it covets my flesh.
A dark red eye of a ferocious beast flickering like mist. An ancient demon that has devoured countless people over the ages.
Yet the way to kill it is surprisingly simple.
The annihilation of a demon is based on a very simple principle from the very beginning.
As the well-known adage goes, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'…….
……Up to this point is my rational thought.
After that, I move by instinct.
The surging demonic energy incites hatred in my mind, and the Yuclaine bloodline drives me to become the most Yuclaine-like mage.
Even my [Mental Strength], which has reached its pinnacle, serves only to distinguish friend from foe in this moment—merely controlling my hostility so it does not turn toward my allies.
No, I myself am refusing the purification of my mental strength.
Roaaaar───!
I first observed it with the [Sixth Eye]. I pinpointed its coordinates, and immediately released all the demonic energy in my body to freeze it. The extreme cold of the Snowbloom Stone ensnared the fluid creature in an instant.
……And.
——Crr-ack-ack.
The sound of something tearing loose.
The very next moment, a torrent of demonic energy flows into my mouth.
Not human…… yet unmistakably the taste of something 'alive'.
Chomp—!
I ate it.
Whether it was the brain, the heart, or the kidneys, I do not know.
I most certainly ate it.
────!
A part of it thrashes inside my body. But I pay it no mind. It is merely a lump of demonic energy running rampant; I only need to digest it.
The meal proceeds with composure.
Crunch———!
One bite.
Crunch——.
Two bites.
Crunch—.
Three bites.
The more I 'consume' it, the quieter the sounds grow, and my vision fades to black.
I see nothing, and my thoughts do not connect.
Only rage, fury beyond measure, violently surges forth from the Yuclaine heart.
Krwaaaaaaah───!
The demonic energy swirling inside my body surges outward.
My chest pounds so violently it feels it will shatter, and the blood vessels of my flesh writhe like tentacles.
……I hunger.
This simple desire rising in my head is probably the man-eater's.
It churns every which way inside my body, forcing thoughts upon me.
Urging me to eat.
……I hunger.
Crunch—!
The horrifying sound of arms and legs being torn from a human body.
This is likely a slaughter I committed.
Guh……. Uwaaaah…….
The faint scream of some terrified human seeps into my ears.
—Professor! Professor!
At the same time, shouts calling out to me scatter through my ears.
—Professor, no, Deculein!
But the hunger inside my body remains, and I still search for something to eat.
……I hunger.
Then I barely realize.
This is not the man-eater's desire.
It has already been 'devoured' by me, and merely the rampaging demonic energy is…….
—……Woojin.
……Time slows.
A world without sound.
The ripple of a single word that stops my heart and makes my soul tremble.
That which is surely nothing but an auditory hallucination…….
* * *
……It was a moment as brief as it was bizarre.
It probably hadn't even been a minute.
The time it took Deculein to completely devour the 'man-eater'.
"……."
Lia gazed at Deculein in silence.
Right now, he is lying on the ground. The veins all over his body swell dark red, making him look like a dead man, but he is still alive.
"……Count. Are ya okay?"
Lia asked.
Deculein did not answer.
Only…….
"Uwah, uwaaaah—!"
Someone's screams rang out loudly.
"……Kuh, someone, a doctor, a doctor!"
It was Bell.
Caught up in Deculein's rampage, the one with one arm and one leg torn off was dripping blood and begging for help.
Of course, there was no one to help him.
Even Bell's subordinates were sneakily avoiding him.
"……He seemed more demon than the demon itself."
Luci said while looking at Deculein. Even she had a somewhat frightened expression.
"To think a human would devour a demon."
Deculein had frozen the man-eater to 'materialize' it, then swallowed it whole.
It was truly a dreamlike sight.
Not a good dream, but a nightmare.
A true nightmare.
"A doctor, a doctoooor—!"
"Ah, so noisy."
Lia cast [Silence] around him. Meanwhile, Luci looked down at Deculein.
She wore the face of someone contemplating something.
"……Don't get any funny ideas. I'll protect him."
Sensing that suspicious air, Lia spread both arms wide and began to channel her mana.
Luci smirked.
"I harbor no strange thoughts. I am merely curious."
"About what?"
"What did the words that calmed Deculein mean? Woojina?"
"……."
Luci's words, purely out of curiosity.
Lia flinched.
Kim Woojin. Since that Korean-style name was quite unfamiliar in this world, it seemed she had understood it not as a name but as a word.
"……It's nothing."
Lia brushed it off roughly. And then she looked at Deculein again.
Deculein, asleep as if he had fainted.
Had the ancient demon been too much for him after all?
Or had he killed the demon in a way that was inevitably too much regardless?
In any case.
"……."
Lia looked at Deculein. Compared to his state, which looked as though he would die at any moment, his face alone was composed and peaceful.
This face, sleeping so soundly, really looked like Woojin…….
Smack—!
Lia slapped her own cheeks with both hands. She hurriedly came to her senses.
"Count. Are ya okay?"
Deculein is not Woojin.
The fact that he reacted to my call was probably pure coincidence.
"……Count?"
Lia called out to Deculein and placed her hand on his forehead—
"Kyaaaaak!"
—when her wrist was grabbed.
Deculein had suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Th-that surprised me!"
* * *
……In the Sanctuary of Time, Sophien was reading a diary.
Rustle— Rustle—
The pages turned one by one.
They fell upon her heart like white snow.
[……Professor Deculein was always there for me.
The one who ruined my body was my father, but the professor made that fault his own. He let me hate him.
To ensure I would not be hurt, he bore that hatred himself.]
Lines filled with Yuria's sincere heart.
And all the sacrifices and devotion Deculein had committed for Yuria.
[I did not know him as such. Perhaps I knew but denied it.
Therefore, the reason I am trying to discard myself is because I, as a person, am riddled with sin, fault, and misunderstanding. Running away without overcoming them is solely for the professor.]
This diary was cold.
Here and there, many frost-like spots, like speckles.
Probably, they were Yuria's tears.
[When I open my eyes, I will forget all my memories, but this alone I wish to remember.]
Sophien's red eyes sank low.
A small breath escaped between her red lips.
[I still wish to become a knight. However, my liege is none other than Deculein…….]
……Up to here.
Clack—.
She closed the diary. She laid it down carefully and rested her chin on her hand. She quietly gazed at Yuria inside the tube.
"……I am jealous."
That single word was her only impression.
"Even if I wished not to be, I cannot help but be jealous."
A love that even the Emperor above all men can never obtain.
Having come to possess it without even knowing, Yuria had burned her entire life away.
"……And pitiful as well."
Sophien loosened the strength in her hand, which gripped a sword.
Clink—
The back of the sword touched and slid against the tube.
—Do you intend to leave her as she is?
Keiron asked.
Sophien spoke.
"If Yuria dies, that professor bastard will be sad."
—Yes. That is so.
A grieving Deculein.
Though she had never seen it even once, that was precisely why she did not want to imagine it.
Even faintly recalling it was agonizing.
"……Keiron."
Sophien placed Keiron on the table.
A small statue the size of a thumb. The so-called 'Mini-Keiron' stood atop Yuria's diary.
—Yes.
"It is unfair."
She formed a self-deprecating smile. She continued like a sigh.
"Deculein tries to protect Yuria with his life, cherishing her even more than he does Me…… yet here I am, worrying that Deculein will be sad."
She herself had tried to kill Yuria in order to have Deculein.
Yet having come here, she feared Deculein, who would grieve Yuria's death.
"Most extremely unfair."
—It is not.
Keiron's firm denial.
Since it was the first time he had denied something so sharply, Sophien's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
—It is not unfair.
Before she could ask what he meant, Keiron lowered his head and spoke.
—Your Majesty. Deculein has already dedicated his life to you.
"……."
—Always. He is dedicating it.
Sophien stared quietly at Keiron.
As if asking with her eyes what on earth he meant.
—Your Majesty. Deculein's heart has an internal injury. And there are still wounds remaining somewhere in his body. Scars that even Deculein's robust body has yet to heal.
"Wha-"
—Your Majesty was born under the fate of having no choice but to kill the one you love.
Words that could become a great wound to her liege.
Words that the Emperor's knight would not dare to utter.
Yet Keiron had been waiting and waiting for this very moment.
"……Keiron."
Now, when Sophien could be most human.
Keiron could not miss this golden opportunity.
As the protector of the Emperor, he must not.
"Do you wish to die?"
—Your Majesty clearly…… tried to kill Deculein.
"……."
—Your Majesty's love incites an impulse to kill within Your Majesty's inner self. Your Majesty was born 'that way' from the beginning.
The evidence was in Keiron's eyes.
Sophien must know as well.
That the Emperor's knight never tells his liege a lie.
—Therefore, it was not once, not twice, not thrice, not four times…… but more than that, Your Majesty has tried to kill Deculein.
Keiron looked Sophien straight in the face.
As if proving that his words were not false.
—And yet Deculein always endured Your Majesty. He did not flee. He only endured.
Those many attempts where Sophien's unconscious had tried to murder Deculein.
Even in moments where the slightest mistake would mean death, Deculein always returned resolutely to Sophien…….
—Furthermore, every night Your Majesty collapsed from exhaustion, he came to find you and held you in his arms. Enduring the thought that Your Majesty's claws might pierce his heart.
"……."
The silent Sophien suddenly thought of something.
The mornings of certain days that had been strangely refreshing.
Then, on all those days, Deculein had…….
—Your Majesty. That is the kind of person Deculein is. Even if Your Majesty wounds his pride, humiliates him, or even tries to kill Yuria here.
"……."
—Always only for Your Majesty, he has been dedicating his life to you.
Sophien closed her eyes briefly.
Because Keiron's words seemed somehow to pound against her temple.
She asked in a low voice.
"……You mean he knew? Deculein. That I…… was trying to kill Yuria……"
—Yes.
"……You conspired, Keiron. With Deculein."
The Emperor's knight said nothing.
Meaning it was true.
Though it was closer to a cooperative relationship for Your Majesty's sake rather than conspiracy, it was indeed betrayal.
—Your Majesty.
"……."
Sophien gritted her teeth. Her jaw was as sharp as a beast's.
Keiron calmly asked again.
—Please speak Your Majesty's heart.
"……My heart?"
—Yes. The emotion Your Majesty is feeling now.
Keiron's question was idiotic.
So fucking idiotic that words could not describe it.
Therefore Sophien glared at him, filling her mouth with the emotion called 'rage'…….
—Your Majesty. Right now. You are shedding tears.
His words stopped Sophien.
Plip—
A small liquid flowing down her cheek stopped Sophien's thoughts.
Plip—
Sophien quietly watched the water drop spread upon the floor.
Plip—
Tears.
Whose they were, she need not even ask.
Her own tears.
Plip—
The stream of water expressing her current heart, her current emotion.
Plip—
Like water drops spreading on the ground, emotions spread in the heart.
Tears for the first time in her life.
Plip—
Having watched herself flow down, Sophien eventually, with a trembling voice…….
"……Something like this heart."
……She answered Keiron's question.
"I know not."
She could not know it.
This emotion, this damned tempest shaking her heart, there was no way she could know it.
"However, one thing is certain……."
She looked at Yuria in the tube again.
The knight in deep sleep, rewinding her own time.
Upon it, Sophien's true sword laid neatly.
The blade she had brought to kill.
"……I hope that professor bastard is not sad."
Sophien had no way of knowing this heart of hers.
"I hope he was happy."
The Emperor is surely a being who can have everything.
A being for whom there is nothing that cannot be had.
"Even if the object of that love is not Me…… it is fine."
Sophien found herself strange, saying it was fine even if she could not have it.
Because it was strange, she rather smiled, feeling strangely relieved.
"Yes. If that professor bastard becomes happy…… I suppose I would have no regrets dying submerged in this emotion."
Is this love?
Is love truly wishing only for the happiness of the one you love?
Is it alright even if you are not in that happiness?
"That…… is My heart…..…"
In that instant.
Pain flooded Sophien's mind.
Agony that felt as if it would shatter her skull and tear her brain apart, yet somehow a pain like liberation.
"……."
That enormous agony, and the new emotions rushing over her.
Sophien accepted them within a tiny chaos.